Last year, thieves broke into a Scottish castle and stole only one thing: a rhino horn, which at 1.5 metres up was the logest in the world. In China pharmaceutical factories have been building up collections of antiques made from rhino horn, for the sole intention of smashing them to powder to make the essential ingredient of many of their medicines. And in Africa poachers continue to die in the search for the black rhino.Recently, conservations met to plan a campaign to persuade countries where rhino horn is still part of the traditional medicine to switch to substitutes. The biggest threat to the survival of the rhiniceros is the refusal of certain countries to enforce a ban on domestic trading in rhino horn.The rhino horn is included in many doses for disorders raging from fevers to nosebleeds. Horn, like fingernails, is made of keratin and has no proven medicinal powers Traditional sunstitues, such as horn from buffalo or antelope, are regarded as second best.The battle is thought to be winnable. But it may be harder than the battle against the trade in ivory, for there is a difference between the two commodities. Ivory is a luxury; rhino horn, people believe, could save the life of their child.
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